Holy Martyr Sozon in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Sozon, coming from Lycaonia, was a shepherd of sheep. When he was deemed worthy to be baptized and to become a Christian, he entered a pagan temple in which there was a statue made of gold and silver. He broke off the statue’s right hand, sold it, and distributed the money he received to the poor. The ruler of the region began punishing many whom he suspected of having committed this deed; therefore, the Saint came forward and revealed that he himself was responsible for what had happened. Immediately they beat him severely, put iron shoes on him, and forced him to run. Again they began to beat him so severely that all the bones of his body were broken, and in this way he surrendered his spirit to God.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 7

The Month of September

Day 7

8. What Those Who Wish to Build a Church but Do Not Have Sufficient Means to Build It Should Do

(From the Life of Saint John, Archbishop of Novgorod. September 7, Menaion)

In our Orthodox fatherland, we continually encounter people collecting donations for the construction of churches of God. What thought does meeting such people bring to mind? First, that our Russian land still needs churches of God; and secondly, that even if it needs them, many among us have no means at all to build the churches that are needed, or some have insufficient means. What, then, is to be done? What should those do who, although they do not have the means to build a church in their locality, nevertheless ardently desire to have a church there? How are they to obtain the means to construct a church? Where are such means to be found?

In answer to these questions, let us turn to the Life of Saint John, Archbishop of Novgorod. There, among other things, the following is related.

John and his brother Gabriel, desiring to enter the monastic life, resolved to establish a new monastery. First of all, they built a wooden church in honor of the Annunciation of the Mother of God and provided everything necessary for the future inhabitants of the monastery. After this, the thought came to them to establish a stone church at the new monastery as well. They began to build it, and at first everything went well, but when they had reached about the middle of the work, the money ran out, and John and Gabriel became despondent.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 6

The Month of September

Day 6

7. The Holy Angels Are Our Invisible Protectors and Guardians

(The Miracle of the Holy Archangel Michael. September 6, Menaion)

Both the word of God and the Holy Fathers teach us to believe that the holy Angels of God, who in God's goodness always care for human beings, do us good, care for us, remain near us, and, as those who stand ever wakefully before the face of God, attending to God's all-good providence for mankind, always protect us at the prompting of the divine will. Thus, the Prophet David, glorifying the protection of God manifested over him, says: “The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Ps. 33:8), that is, from the schemes devised against them by evil men. And elsewhere: “No evil shall befall you, and no plague shall come near your dwelling; for He shall command His Angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways” (Ps. 90:10–11). Saint Basil the Great teaches: “As the walls of a city, surrounding the city on every side, repel enemy attacks from every direction, so the Angel serves as a wall before you, guards you from behind, and on both sides leaves nothing unprotected” (Works of Basil the Great, Part 5, Homily on Ps. 33:8). Thus, from all these words we become convinced that the Angels are our invisible protectors, guardians, benefactors, and keepers. But having been convinced by these words, can we also become convinced of this truth by an example? We can. And here is such a proof.

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew, 
or Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

On the Wedding Garment

“Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?” (Matthew 22:12)

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

Beloved faithful,

The parable from today's Holy Gospel, besides the other hidden teachings contained within it, also reminds us of the wedding garment with which we were clothed at Holy and Divine Baptism. We will be called to give an account for this garment on the great day of God's judgment at the end of the ages.

We must understand that this garment is Jesus Christ Himself, our Lord and Savior, according to the testimony of the great Apostle Paul, who says: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ!” (Galatians 3:27). We ask ourselves: What duty do we have, we who at Holy Baptism put on Christ? In answer, we shall say that all of us who have put on Christ have the great duty to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the garments of light (Romans 13:12).

What are the works of darkness, and why are they called by this name? The works of darkness are all evil, fruitless works, that is, the sins which we commit of our own will, about which the divine Apostle Paul tells us (Ephesians 5:11).

Homily on the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (St. Justin Popovich)

Homily on the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 

By St. Justin Popovich

(Delivered in 1974 at the Ćelije Monastery)

There is no more important event in the history of the human race, nor in our history—my history and yours, the Serbian and the Orthodox history, and the history of the whole human race—than the descent of God from Heaven to earth. There is no greater event that could happen in this world. And it did happen. The King of Heaven descended! How could the Kingdom of Heaven not descend with Him into this world! God descended! How could the Angels of Heaven not descend with Him and come to dwell upon the earth!

Behold, the earth is in truth a piece of Heaven. The earth was created to be a part of Heaven, but we human beings, through sin, have moved the earth away from God and placed a terrible darkness between ourselves and God, for sin is darkness. And thus the earth fell away from Heaven. The Lord has come into this world, the Parable of the Wedding Feast of the Son of God tells us today. It is an enigmatic and mysterious word: the wedding of the Son of God. That is, the greatest celebration on this earth when God came upon it. The greatest joy and the richest feast.

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew
(14th Sunday After Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt

In the Gospel read today, the Lord Jesus Christ likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a man, a king, who made a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast; and they did not want to come. What disregard! What pride, ingratitude, and insolence! And yet what condescension and longsuffering on the part of the king! He again sent other servants, saying: "Tell those who have been invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and what has been fattened are slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast." What, then, did those who had been invited do? How did they respond to the renewed invitation of their gracious king? They, the Gospel says, paid no attention and went away, one to his own field and another to his business; but the others seized his servants, insulted them, and killed them. But now hear what the king did with these insolent and ungrateful men. When the king heard of such brazen insolence on the part of those invited to the wedding, he became angry, and sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants: "The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; therefore go out to the crossroads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find." And those servants went out onto the roads and gathered all whom they found, both evil and good; and the wedding feast was filled with those reclining there. And when the king came in to see those reclining there, he saw a man there who was not dressed in a wedding garment, and he said to him: "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" But he was silent. Then the king said to the servants: "Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth there; for many are called, but few are chosen" (Mt. 22:2–14). Here ends today's Gospel reading.

Reflection on the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew

Matthew 22:2-14

By St. Theophan the Recluse  

 

A king arranges a wedding for his son, he sends once for those who were bidden, sends twice, but because of earthly cares they do not come—one was busy at home, another with business. A new invitation was made in other spheres, and the wedding chamber was furnished with guests. Among them was found one not dressed for a wedding, who was therefore cast out. The meaning of this parable is clear: The wedding is the Kingdom of Heaven, the invitation is the preaching of the Gospels, those who refused are those who did not believe at all, and the one who was not dressed for a wedding believed, but did not live according to faith. 

 

Each of us must figure out for ourselves which category we belong to. That we are bidden is clear, but are we believers? Indeed it is possible to even be among believers, under their common name, and completely lack faith. One does not think at all about faith, as if it did not exist; another knows something or other about it and from it, and is satisfied; another interprets the faith in a distorted way; another relates to it with complete animosity. All are reckoned to be among the Christians, although they have absolutely nothing which is Christian. 

 

Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew Resource Page

Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew

 

Matthew 22:2-14   

 

Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew: Gospel Reading 

 

Gospel Commentary for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophylact of Ochrid) 

 

Reflection on the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Theophan the Recluse) 

 

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. John of Kronstadt) 

 

Homily on the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (St. Justin Popovich) 

 

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday of Matthew (St. Cleopa of Sihastria) 

 

 

Fourteenth Sunday After of Pentecost 

 

2 Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:1-4 

 

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost: Epistle Reading 

 

Holy Prophet Zechariah, Father of John the Forerunner, in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Zechariah, whose feast we celebrate today, is a Hebrew name meaning “he who remembers the Lord.” He is distinct from the Prophet Zechariah who belongs to the group of the twelve so-called Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. He too is characterized as a prophet because he truly possessed the prophetic gift, and the matters concerning him are recorded by the Evangelist Luke, who relates that during the period of his priestly service in the Temple, as a priest, he received a vision of the Archangel Gabriel, who announced to him beforehand the birth of his son John, despite all the logical obstacles: his own old age, and the old age and barrenness of his wife Elizabeth. Because of his disbelief, the archangel “punished” him with muteness, which was removed with the birth of John, an event that led Zechariah to hymns and glorifications, as well as to a prophecy concerning his child. His end was martyric, as is also noted in the New Testament: namely, his countrymen killed him, according to their well-known custom, between the Temple and the altar.